Khóa luận An analysis of some techniques to improve writing English business letters

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG ------------------------------- ISO 9001 : 2008 KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH: TIẾNG ANH HẢI PHÒNG - 2010 HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT ----------------------------------- GRADUATION PAPER AN ANALYSIS OF SOME TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE WRITING ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS. By: Vu Thi Huong Giang Class: NA 1004 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, M.A HAI PHONG - 2010 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG -------------------------------------- Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp Sinh viên: ............................................................Mã số:............................ Lớp: .............................Ngành:.................................................................... Tên đề tài: ................................................................................................. .................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. .................................................................................................. Nhiệm vụ đề tài 1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ). .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp. .. .. .. CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất: Họ và tên:............................................................................................. Học hàm, học vị:................................................................................... Cơ quan công tác:................................................................................. Nội dung hướng dẫn:............................................................................ Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên:............................................................................................. Học hàm, học vị:................................................................................... Cơ quan công tác:................................................................................. Nội dung hướng dẫn:............................................................................ Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010 Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Sinh viên Người hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 HIỆU TRƯỞNG GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp: .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2. Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu): .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): .. .. .. Hải Phòng, ngày .. tháng .. năm 2010 Cán bộ hướng dẫn (họ tên và chữ ký) NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài. 2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : (Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Ngày.......... tháng......... năm 2010 Người chấm phản biện ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the process of doing the graduation paper, I not only have faced up with many problems in analyzing techniques in improving writing English business letters, collecting reference materials but also difficulties in choosing the right way to express my idea. However, I have received a lot of guidance, assistance, and enthusiasm from my supervisor, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen and other teachers in Foreign Language Department of Hai Phong Private University. Thanks to these helps, I have overcome the difficulties and completed my graduation paper successfully. I wish to express my deepest gratitude and indebtedness to my supervisor Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen who has always been most willing and ready to give me valuable advices, suggestions and materials to finish this study. I would like thank all teachers of Foreign Language Department of Hai Phong Private University for their precious and useful lessons during my four – year study which is then the foundation of this graduation paper. Last but not least, I am grateful to my family and friends for their encouragement and inspiration. Hai Phong, June 2010 Vu Thi Huong Giang TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................................... i Table of contents .............................................................................. ii List of figures ................................................................................... v PART ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1. Rationale ................................................................................................................... 1 2.Aims of the study ....................................................................................................... 2 3. Scope of the study ..................................................................................................... 2 4. Method of the study .................................................................................................. 2 5. Design of the study ................................................................................................... 3 PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1. An overview on Business letter ..................................................................................... 4 I.1.1. Definition of Business letter ................................................................................ 4 I.1.2. Importance of business letter ............................................................................... 5 I.1.3. Purposes of Business letter .................................................................................. 6 I.1.4. The format of the English business letter ............................................................ 7 I.1.5. Abbreviation ........................................................................................................ 15 I.2. Several types Business letters ....................................................................................... 15 I.2.1. The sales letter ...................................................................................................... 16 I.2.2. The inquiry letter .................................................................................................. 18 I.2.3. The order letter ..................................................................................................... 20 I.2.4. The acknowledgement letter ................................................................................ 22 I.2.5. The refusal letter................................................................................................... 23 I.2.6. The complaint letter ............................................................................................. 25 I.2.7. The adjustment letter ............................................................................................ 27 I.2.8. The resignation letter ............................................................................................ 29 CHAPTER II. ANALYSIS OF SOME TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVING WRITING ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS. II.1. Essential techniques in writing English business letters .............................................. ....31 II.1.1. You-attitude ................................................................................................... 31 II.1.2. Positive emphasis ........................................................................................... 33 II.1.3. Tone .............................................................................................................. 35 II.1.4. Language ....................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER III. SOME SUGGESTIONS TO VIETNAMESE LEARNERS FOR IMPROVING TECHNIQUES IN WRITING ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS III.1. You-attitude ...................................................................................................... 39 III.1.1. Focusing on “you” instead of “I / We” ................................................ 39 III.1.2. Avoiding “you” in criticism and refusals ............................................ 40 III.1.3. Emphasizing reader benefits. .............................................................. 41 III.2. Positive emphasis ............................................................................................. 42 III.2.1. Eliminating negative words, using positive words ................................ 42 III.2.2. Focusing on what the reader can do rather than what cannot be done 44 III.2.3. Giving an alternative if possible ............................................................ 45 III.3. Tone ................................................................................................................... 46 Avoid stiff, outdated expressions ............................................................... 47 III.4. Language ........................................................................................................... 49 III.4.1. Avoid the using of slang in writing letter .................................... 49 III.4.2. Avoid using overly technical terms, unfamiliar abbreviations. 49 III.4.3. Avoid using cliches ..................................................................... 49 III.4.4. Avoid sexist language ................................................................. 50 III.4.5. Avoid repetition in writing letter ................................................. 51 III.5. Raising student’s awareness of cultural differences between Vietnamese and Western style in writing a business letter. ..................................................................................... 53 PART THREE: CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 55 References ............................................................................................... ....56 List of figures Figure 1 : Full block-letter style .......................................................................... 13 Figure 2 : Modified block-letter style .................................................................. 14 Figure 3 : Sales letter ........................................................................................... 17 Figure 4 : Inquiry letter ........................................................................................ 19 Figure 5 : Order letter .......................................................................................... 21 Figure 6 : Acknowledgement letter ..................................................................... 22 Figure 7 : Letter refusing a speaking invitation ................................................... 24 Figure 8 : Complaint letter .................................................................................. 26 Figure 9 : Adjustment letter – company fault ...................................................... 28 Figure 10 : Resigning under negative conditions. ............................................... 30 PART ONE INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, English plays an important role in international communication. It is wisely used in all fields of life such as economy, politics, tourism and education. And in this globalizing trend society, the modern evolution of business becomes more and more necessary and in order to satisfy this trend, the business letter has became increasingly important. Whether a mail order business is carried on or not, the letter is no less important. Goods are bought, collections made, complaints adjusted, instructions given, business policies and selling campaigns outlined in the business letters. Realizing the important role of business letter, Vietnamese students have been studying hard because to deal with English business letter effectively is significant in the integration process into WTO. However, there is a fact that not everyone can write a successful business letter in English because writing a letter presents a particular type of the language and the writer should make it natural, lively and persuasive. It is very difficult to learn business letter writing well and understand it deeply. We can not only learns its basic rules of format, styles but also studies all of its aspects. Writing a correct form of English business letter is really a problem not only to elementary students but also to students at upper levels or even graduated one. Thus I decided to choose “ An analysis on some techniques to improve writing English business letter” as the topic for my research with the hope that learners will able to know more about the usage of techniques in writing business letters. 2. Aims of the study You have right to express yourself and your intension in any manner you please in an English business letter, but if you wish to communicate effectively, you should use standard English and follow all of rules in English business letter writing. The aims of this paper are : - Giving theoretical background of definition, importance, purpose, business letter format and some types of business letter. - Finding out some common mistakes in writing an English business letter. - Analyzing and suggesting some techniques in order to have good will in writing English business letter. 3. Scope of the study. There are so many different material resources and researches that require a lot of time and hard labor while my personal experience is limited. Therefore, this study can only focus on study some effective techniques in English business letter writing skills, especially through the analyzing the business letters in order to suggest appreciate solutions to overcome such difficulties in writing. I hope that this study is a good reference material for the English learners who wish to build a goodwill in writing English business letters. 4. Methods of the study . To finish this paper, I myself carry out the method of Inductive study which means that I go from concrete materials of sample business letters to remarks and conclusion. A part from that, The Qualitative method is also applied to analyze the tone, the language usage in different collected business letters The theoretical background, the types of business letters are extracted from variety of resources such as books, websites and experiences of businessperson who deal with those in their daily work. 5. Design of the study. My graduation paper is divided into three parts, in which the second naturally is the most important part. Part one, is the introduction, in which the rationale of the study, the aims of the study, the scope of the study, the method of the study, design of the study are presented. Part two, is the development, the main part that includes three chapters. 1. Chapter one : theoretical background which focuses on the definition, important role, purpose, format and types of business letters. 2. Chapter two : analysis of some techniques in improving writing English business letter. 3. Chapter three : some suggestion to Vietnamese learners for improving techniques in writing English business letter. Part three, is the conclusion, summarizes the previous parts. PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1. An overview on Business letters I.1.1. Definition of Business letter In 2007, the Post Office of Vietnam estimated that of the 72 million items of post they delivered daily, 80% were business communications. Business letter are business tools, they are used to provide or request information, confirm less formal communications or highlight a problem that needs to be resolved. So, What is a business letter ? A business letter is a formal communication between people or organizations who are involved in trading, exchanging money for goods or services. Writing a business letter is about developing that trade, so it is important to remember that a business letter is an official document. Of course there are many other communications between peoples and companies, for instance telephone conversations, email, meetings, presentations, contracts, orders and invoices. A business letter is the most powerful communications tool for providing structured and considered information in a formal way. A business letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter will depend on the relationship between the parties concerned. ( wikipedia.org ) A business letter serves the main purpose of communication between two companies, or it is a method to talk to different people within a business. ( eduers.com ) Business letter is a letter dealing with business.( synonym.com ) Among many definitions, a “business letter” according to the Oxford English dictionary is “ a missive, communication in writing addressed to a person or body of person. Also in extended use applied to certain formal documents issued by persons in authority” In my opinion, business letters are formal letters used for business to business, business to client, or client to business correspondence. A business letter is a formal means of communication between two people, a person and a corporation, or two corporations. Business letters differ from personal letters because they follow very strictly set rules for composition. Many people are intimidated by the prospect of writing to strict guidelines, however business letters are nothing to be afraid of. They are too useful a tool to be stigmatized by the public. I.1.2. Importance. Every business requires communication which extends the exchange of information, products and partnerships. Proper communication is the means of a good business. In fact communication only brings good clients, customers and reputation to the business. Writing business letters perfectly is an art in its own priority. A professional business letter shall definitely bring good and positive response for the business whereas an uncommon letter may not yield expected results and at times, businesses lose customers. Therefore, writing of letters in business language is very important which would impress customers and investors For instance, if a customer placed an order for 10 laptops, the company should accept and address the letter as “we thank you for your order and we confirm the dispatch of 10 laptops” which means thanking the client is very important as the customer would be very pleased to read such lines in business letters. In case of payment request writing letters, the content of the letter should be quite explanatory indicating the need for payment. Use of harsh or rude language would cause further harm a